- Jul 30, 2017
- 34
- 11
I'm still a beginner at meat curing, I've come across a lot of conflicting advice online. Some say that when dry curing bacon or coppa, I should place the meat in a plastic bag, with the cure mix, and leave it there, sitting in the liquid that develops. Others say that I should drain off the liquid regularly, and add more cure. I've even seen instructions that I should leave the meat standing on a rack, or on a sloping board, so that the liquid falls away. I've seen instructions for prosciutto that say I should cover the leg of pork with at least an inch of salt above and below. Other instructions that insist I mustn't exceed a certain number of grams per kilo.
It seems to me that if I leave the meat sitting in the deep pool of liquid that accumulates, the curing can hardly be described as "dry". If I do that, how is this so different from wet cured or brined (what we call Wiltshire Cure in the UK), bacon? I'm really only interested in dry curing bacon and coppa. Can someone explain? Should I, or should I not, drain off the liquid?
It seems to me that if I leave the meat sitting in the deep pool of liquid that accumulates, the curing can hardly be described as "dry". If I do that, how is this so different from wet cured or brined (what we call Wiltshire Cure in the UK), bacon? I'm really only interested in dry curing bacon and coppa. Can someone explain? Should I, or should I not, drain off the liquid?